Chicken Cacciatore

Yay it’s Thursday! It’s been a long week so far. Anyways, we are taking a break from the baby shower planning for now and we’re going to share with you a simple recipe that you can make on the weekend ahead.

Chicken Cacciatore is a family favourite dish. I don’t always have the time to make it, but this past weekend we had a stormy indoor Sunday so I thought why not. It’s the perfect comfort food dish to have after a long week and on a cloudy hibernating day.

To make Chicken Cacciatore (to serve five people roughly) you will need the following…

16-20 chicken thighs, with bones and skin.

1 can (796ml) of diced tomatoes

Your favorite tomato sauce, we used Classico’s Tomato Basil (or you can make your own)

12-20 sliced white mushrooms

2 tsp. of dried oregano

½ tsp. of dried basil

1 red chopped pepper

1 green chopped pepper

Salt (to taste)

½-1 tsp. of black pepper

3 cloves of garlic

Rice or pasta to serve with the chicken

Start by salting and peppering your chicken. Let it sit for about an hour.

While that’s happening, chop up your peppers and garlic and sauté them in a big pot until a little bit softer but leave some crunch. 

While the peppers are softening, you can slightly cook your chopped up mushrooms in a separate pan and set aside. You want the mushrooms to get a bit darker and softer and to cook some of the liquid out of them.

Add in the seasonings and the diced tomatoes. Stir around and then add in your tomato sauce. Allow your chunky looking sauce to boil and then simmer while you cook your chicken. 

Now it’s time to cook the chicken in batches making sure they get nice and crispy. I cooked them until they were almost fully cooked but you can leave them less cooked and let them finish cooking in the oven. I’m always super worried about under cooked chicken though. I started by cooking them on both sides for 5 minutes and then going back to the original side and cooking for at least 3 more minutes (make sure you don’t burn).

Place the prepared chicken into a couple of Pyrex dishes and cover with the tomato sauce. It’s not meant to be a runny type of sauce; you want it to be thicker over top of the chicken.

Cook further for an hour at 350 degrees.

When it comes out it should be steaming and bubbling.

Serve over rice or pasta. I also made some of my cheese biscuits to go along with it. They are always a hit

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Thanksgiving Dinner Sides

We are right into Fall now. The weather is cooler and crisper and there are more clouds and overcast days. The leaves are changing colours on the trees and on my way to work I see all the squirrels burying their nuts for the months ahead. With Fall, comes Thanksgiving. Canadian Thanksgiving is just over a week away and we have a couple of posts dedicated to that.

This week we are looking at that big Thanksgiving dinner. Some of the most important elements of that dinner are the sides that accompany the turkey and ham. We have put together a list of yummy sides to try out for your Thanksgiving dinner along with a couple of recipes for ones that we have made in the past at our own dinners.

Green Beans – They seem to be a popular veggie for Fall meals. Try a Green Bean Casserole or Green Beans with Shallots.

Bread – You’ll usually find some sort of bread or buns with you big Thanksgiving dinner and Cornbread or Fresh Biscuits are perfect for that.

Cranberry...-You will most likely find something cranberry with your turkey dinner for something different you can try a Cranberry Relish or a Citrus, Apricot, and Cranberry Compote.

Brussel Sprouts- You will love them or hate them, but they are a permanent part of most Thanksgiving dinners and a way to try them is to crisp and “burn” them like in Samantha’sYummy Brussel Sprouts recipe or cover them with cheese in a Cheesy Brussel Sprout Bake.

Veggies- Most of the time you’ll find your typical veggie mix on the table for dinner but a twist on them would be a Holiday Roasted Vegetable mix or some Maple Bacon Carrots or some Smashed Broccoli.

Sweet Potatoes – Something that always makes me think of turkey dinner is yams/sweet potatoes and a Sweet Potato Salad or Sweet Potato Soup are different takes on this staple.

Here are a couple of recipes that we like to make...

Caramelized Carrots

8-10 carrots

Brown sugar

Butter

Water

Peel and cut carrots into sticks. Place them in a casserole dish and sprinkle some brown sugar onto them along with blobs of butter. Add in a little bit of water so that it just covers the bottom of the dish. Make sure you don’t use too much as you’ll have water coming out of the carrots.

Put in the microwave wave with the lid on for 5-10 minutes or until soft. Don’t overcook.

After they have softened in the microwave, take the lid off and put the dish on the stove top on medium heat. Let the liquid come to a boil and cook off. You want the carrots to caramelize and get all goldenly brown. You can give them a stir here and there while they are cooking on the stove. As soon as they look ready, take the off the stove and serve.

Yam Casserole

3 large yams

1 Tbsp. of butter

1 Tbsp. of honey

Juice of 1 orange

Nutmeg to taste

Salt and pepper

Boil the yams and cool before slipping off the skins. Blend or puree all of the ingredients together. Spoon into a buttered casserole dish and bake at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Fluffy Mashed Potatoes

You’ll often see mashed potatoes on the table at Thanksgiving dinner. One thing that everybody loves is fluffy and flavourful mashed potatoes so take a look at this super simple how-to to make the fluffiest mashed potatoes ever!

The key to fluffy mashed potatoes is to remove as much starch as you possibly can. Boil your potatoes as you usually would. Drain them and rinse them under warm water for about 30 seconds; that’ll get lots of the starch off. Allow them to dry as much as possible.

Pass the potatoes through a food mill/ricer back into the pot that they were cooked in and add 2 cups of whole milk and 12 tablespoons of butter (these measurements were based on 4 pounds of Russet potatoes. Make sure the butter and milk are warm before adding them to the potatoes. Fold the mixture until all combined and season with salt and pepper.

Mint'd Mojito - Mojito "Recipes"

Sadly, we are getting close to the end of our fun Summer theme. We do have three more posts so that’s exciting. Today our shade is called “Mint’d Mojito” by Fenty and they call it a metallic mint blue.

We’ve decided to break down the Mojito so we’ve found a few interesting recipes featuring the mint and the lime. If you don’t already know, a mojito has both lime and mint flavours in it along with some alcohol. I’ve never had one myself but it always looks so refreshing and bright.

Here’s a recipe for one...

You need 2 ounce of light rum, 2 tsp. of sugar, 6-8 fresh mint leaves, a splash of club soda, and 1 lime cut in half.

Place the sugar, mint leaves, and splash of club soda into a highball glass. Muddle well to dissolve the sugar and to release the flavour of the mint.

Squeeze the juice from both halves of the lime into the glass and drop one half in.

Add the rum and stir well.

Top with club soda and garnish with fresh mint.

If you are in the mood for a different take/approach to a mojito then check these recipes (that we thought represented the lime and mint quite well) out and give them a try.

Here are a couple savoury recipes...

Moroccan Chicken

1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite size cubes

2 cloves garlic

1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tsp. dried chile de arbol, seeds removed (1/2 - 1 tsp. cayenne pepper)

2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley

1 Tsbp. smoked paprika

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

1 small to medium lemons grated & juiced

1 ounce jar marinated artichoke quarters

1 bunch asparagus, cut into quarters

Vinaigrette:

1 lemon, juiced & zest

1/2 a lime, juiced

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. honey

Goat Cheese Yogurt:

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 Tbsp. fresh mint, chopped

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 lemon, juiced

salt and pepper, to taste
2-3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Place the chicken in a gallon size ziplock bag or medium size bowl.

In a food processor add the garlic, ginger, dried chile de arbol (or cayenne), cilantro, parsley, smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Process 1-2 minutes or until everything is finely chopped.

Stream in 1/2 cup olive oil. Stir in the lemon zest and juice.

Pour the marinade over the chicken and toss well. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.

To make the vinaigrette... add the lemon zest and juice to a small sauce pot. Bring mixture to a simmer and simmer, about 1 minute or until the zest absorbs the juice. WATCH CLOSELY, you do not want the zest to get burnt to the pan.

Spoon the zest out of the pot and into a small bowl. Add the olive oil, parsley, salt, honey and lime juice. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

To make the minted goat cheese yogurt mix together the Greek yogurt, chopped mint, crushed red pepper flakes, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir in the crumbled goat cheese. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

Preheat the grill or a grill pan to medium-high heat and lightly oil the grates. Thread the chicken, asparagus and artichokes onto metal skewers (or wood skewers that have been soaked in water). I alternated with asparagus+ artichokes and then chicken, repeat. Place the chicken on the grill until the chicken is golden and no longer pink in the centre, about 5 minutes each side. You may also cook the chicken in a skillet if needed. Serve the chicken with the the lemon herb vinaigrette and the minted goat cheese yogurt.

Lime Shrimp Avocado Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

¼ cup olive oil

2 Tbsp. honey

2 limes, juiced

½ tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. black pepper

1 shallot, finely diced

1½ cups sweet corn, frozen and thawed or fresh

1 can black beans

1 avocado, thinly sliced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

½ lb frozen shrimp, defrosted

¼ cup parsley, chopped

Instructions:

Cook your quinoa following directions on the package. Fluff the quinoa with a fork after it’s done cooking and set aside to cool.

Whisk the olive oil, honey, lime juice, chili powder, salt and pepper. Finely dice the shallot and mix in with the dressing. Set aside.

Prepare all the vegetables for the salad.

Spoon the cooled quinoa into 4 bowls and divide up the vegetables placing them on top of the quinoa. Next, add your shrimp to the bowls. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and sprinkle chopped parsley over top.

For something sweet...

Mint Butter Cream Icing

4 cups of Powdered Sugar

1 cup Butter

1 Tbsp. Milk

1/2 tsp. Peppermint Extract

Yellow and blue food colouring

Add powdered sugar to mixing bowl.

Add softened sticks of butter

Add 1 Tbsp. of milk.

Beat on low until powdered sugar is incorporated. Then move mixer up to medium-high speed.

Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When completely mixed the frosting may appear dry.

Add more milk, a little bit at a time until frosting is the proper consistency.

Add Peppermint Extract.

Mint Chocolate Popsicles

2 2/3 cups full fat coconut milk

3/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

peppermint extract (optional, and to taste)

food colouring (optional)

3 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Combine coconut milk and fresh mint leaves in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat for 5 minutes, until bubbles appear around the edge of the pan. Remove from heat and let steep 20 minutes. Strain infused coconut milk through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on the mint with the back of a spoon. Whisk in sugar, salt, peppermint extract, and food colour (2 drops green, 1 drop blue) until smooth. Let mixture cool to room temperature, then cover and chill for 6 hours in the refrigerator.

Stir chopped chocolate into mixture and fill popsicle molds, leaving a 1/2-inch of space at the top of each mold. Freeze for about an hour, then insert popsicle sticks and freeze overnight. To unmold, let popsicles stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Carefully remove from molds and serve.

Key Lime Chex Mix

Ingredients:

9 cups Rice Chex cereal

1 1/4 cups white chocolate baking chips

1/4 cup butter

4 tsp. grated key lime peel

2 Tbsp. fresh key lime juice

2 cups icing sugar

Instructions:

Measure cereal into a large bowl, set aside. 

In a microwave safe bowl put chips, butter, peel and juice uncovered on High for 1 minute; stir.   

Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth.

Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.

Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

Add icing sugar. Seal bag; gently shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in airtight container. 

Wonton Wrapper Raviolis

As we ease into a New Year, we like to throw in a few miscellaneous blog posts of things that we find interesting and want to try out but they may not fit into our themes throughout the year.

First up...easy wonton ravioli. This is something that we wanted to try out for a long time. We actually wanted to make some ravioli at home that was quick and easy so we first tried out fresh store bought lasagna sheets but they were too thick and stiff and didn’t work out at all. Our next plan/idea was to get some wonton wrappers and fill them and make ravioli. These worked out much better. Take a look below to see how made a yummy batch of ravioli.

First of all you’ll want to make a filling. We chose a ricotta cheese and spinach filling. For this you will need ricotta cheese, spinach, olive oil, garlic, eggs, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. I cooked up about 10 cups of fresh spinach (yes that seems like a lot but it cooks down so so much) along with 3 cloves of chopped garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. Cook until dark green and until the spinach goes down. 

In a bowl, add in 2 cups of ricotta cheese, 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese, 1 egg, salt and pepper and the spinach. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to use.  

After the filling is made, you can whip out your wonton wrappers and start filling. Either the square or rounds ones will work. We are making slightly larger raviolis so that we can use the entire wrapper without cutting off scrap bits. They are also much thinner than your average ravioli so it’s fine that they are a bit bigger.

Grab a bowl of warm water and put it nearby as you will need to use this to close the ravioli. You’ll also want some baking sheets to place the raviolis on as you wrap them.

Place a dollop of filling in the centre of the wrapper. You don’t want too much as it may split open so a little goes a long way.

Use your finger to put a light boarder of water around the edges of the wrapper.

Fold in half and pinch the sides together.

Place it on a baking sheet and then continue to make more. We were feeding a lot so we made a lot! You can make as many as you want. I did try making some and put them in the fridge overnight. That wasn’t the best idea as they stuck together and stuck to the container and turned really soft. It was a disaster! It’s just best to make them as you need them.

Get a large pot of water boiling. Once it’s boiling, drop about 6 of the raviolis in and let them cook for about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a parchment lined baking sheet in the oven. I put the oven on the warm and hold setting. Continue cooking the rest of the raviolis.

Next, make your sauce. We kept it real simple and just melted some butter in a pan along with some fresh sage and then tossed in the raviolis. I would say just eye how much of each you use. I needed a lot of sauce so I used extra butter and sage. We were so excited to make this and hungry that we forgot to take some pictures along the way! Sorry.

Serve and enjoy...so delicious.

Comfort Foods Part 3 - Mac and Cheese

It’s the last week of comfort food. I can’t believe Halloween is next week and October is over already. 

There is nothing more comforting than a good ol’ plate or bowl of mac and cheese. You can keep your mac and cheese real simple by doing a simple cream sauce with macaroni and a cheddar cheese baked topping. You can do a time saving pressure cooker mac and cheese (Nicole will share more about that later on) or you can do a “grown up” mac and cheese with chicken and bacon and a few different cheeses. 

Nicole has a recipe for mac and cheese that you can do in a pressure cooker. It looks so simple and quick to make. For this you will need a pressure cooker of course. You will also need...

4 tbsp. of butter

¼ cup of flour

4 cups of low fat milk

1 ½ cups of chicken broth

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. dried thyme

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper  

1 pound of dried Penne pasta

1 cup Gruyere cheese

1 cup of Parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in the pressure cooker on the browning setting. Then sprinkle in the flour and whisked until dissolved. 

Whisk in the milk slow and steadily. Pour in the broth and whisk until smooth. Then whisk in the mustard, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir in the dried and uncooked Penne pasta.

Lock the lid and cook at high pressure for 5-8 minutes.

Use the pot’s quick release method to bring the pot’s pressure back to normal. 

Unlock and open the pot and stir in the cheeses. Cover without locking and let sit for a few minutes to melt the cheese in. Open and stir thoroughly before serving. 

For my more “elaborate” version of mac and cheese you will need a simple white sauce. You can make your own or buy a plain Alfredo sauce in a jar from the supermarket.

First of all boil some pasta. Penne, Rotini’s, or regular Macaroni will do. Your choice. I usually do 4-5 cups or more of dried pasta because I cook it for my family, but you can make enough for how many people you are cooking for. Once that has cooked, drain and set aside. 

Warm up the sauce in a pot. Stir in some grated Parmesan cheese about a cup and about 2 cups of either cheddar cheese or Mozzarella. Warm it up, but be sure not to boil it. Keep on low heat.

While you are cooking the sauce and pasta, you can put the chicken in the oven. Use the method from a few weeks back when we did the chowder. Cook about 3-4 chicken breasts if you’re cooking for a large amount of people. This will take about 30 minutes. Then chop up into bite sized pieces and add to the sauce. 

After you make the sauce, fry up some bacon in small bites. Drain and pat and then add this directly to the sauce. If want a healthier mac and cheese then you can add some boiled broccoli or some spinach leaves. 

Once you have the bacon and chicken in the sauce, pour the pasta in and stir until all is coated. 

You can put it in a large casserole dish or you can do what I enjoy doing and make individual mac and cheeses. 

 Sprinkle with a mix of cheddar and Mozzarella cheese. 

Bake at 375 degrees for about 30-45 minutes or until bubbling and the cheese is browned.  

Serve right out of the oven, but be careful... don’t burn your tongue.